1. Developing A Healthy Personality

2. To belong is to feel a part of the group, to feel accepted, to feel safe & secure. But many children, teenagers, & even adults may feel that belonging seems to be reserved for the smarter, the stronger, the more beautiful, & the wiser. To truly belong a person must first feel a sense belonging to him or herself. Acceptance of one’s self – one’s own intelligence, beauty, wit, & talents – is the first step in belonging. No one has everything, but everyone has unique talents & thoughts that define them & make them special & worthwhile. Write a few sentences about your feelings on the paragraphs & answer the following questions 1. What are your unique talents? 2. Where did they come from?

3. 1. Personality: The feelings, attitudes, & behavior that make each person an individual ~ Psychoanalytic / Trait / Social-learning /Humanistic 2. Heredity: The passing of physical & mental traits biologically from parents to their children ~ Ex: Height, eye color, & hair 3. Instincts: An inherited pattern of behavior that does not need to be learned ~ Nursing ~ Humans are thought to have few true instincts!

4. 4. Extrovert: A person who is very outgoing ~ Sociable & outgoing individual 5. Introvert: A person who prefers being alone rather than in a crowd ~ Quiet & retiring individual ***Neither is better than the other. Few people are totally extroverted or introverted.

5. 6. Socialization: The process of teaching behavior based on the beliefs & habits of the family & community ~ Passing along cultural heritage through the teachings of religion, traditions, dress, & ways of behaving toward other people ~ Parents begin the process, school & community add influence as the child grows

6. 7. Conditioning: The shaping of behaviors by means of rewards & punishments ~ When a child is praised for kindness, the child is likely to continue behaving in that way 8. Modeling: The process of learning by watching & imitating another person ~ The person whom someone watches & imitates is called a role model

7. 9. Stereotyping: Believing that all members of a large group share the same characteristics in a fixed way ~ Ex: Expectations for certain ethnic or gender groups ~ When you stereotype someone, you fail to recognize the person’s uniqueness! 10. Peer: A person who is like one or more others in age, status, or interests

8. 11. Peer pressure: The strong influence of others in a person’s age group ~ Ex: Do what the crowd is doing! ~ NOT ALL PEER PRESSURE IS NEGATIVE! 12. Values: The rules & standards that you feel are important to live by ~ Child – accepted what your parents taught you ~ Teenager – you may want to know the reasons behind your parents’ opinions & rules ~ Adult – mixture of the values you grew up with & some that you come to adopt during adolescence

9. 13. Maturity: The state of being fully grown ~ Mature people know themselves fairly well & are able to make long-lasting ties with others ~ They can make responsible decisions & understand what may result from their actions! 14. Attitude: Your state of mind toward something in particular or toward life in general ~ An outlook on something (positive or negative)

10. 15. Communication: The sharing of thoughts, feelings, & information ~ Verbal / Non-verbal

11. Activity: ICE BREAKERS: You will play the game “Gestures or Schraids” while filling out this sheet. You are NOT TO TALK at all and you may only use gestures or sound effects to communicate. You must get a signature for all ice breakers. Each person may only sign your paper once. You can only sign you own paper once as well.

12. Activity Follow-up: Write 1 paragraph on how you can relate this activity to your everyday lives! Also include: Was this activity difficult (if you did it the right way)? How can people misconstrue what we say?

13. Review: 1. Are most people introverted, extroverted, or both? Explain! 2. How does communication affect our personality? 3. How do you develop a healthy personality? 4. How can we improve our personality?